CAPITAL NEWS WHITEHALL BROUGHT TO A STANDSTILL DURING TAXI PROTEST
On Saturday 5 Sep- tember Whitehall was brought to a standstill in the latest protest against “uneven” taxi regulation in the cap- ital.
The Evening Stan- dard reports that taxi drivers and their fam- ilies came out in force near Downing Street
at 1pm, with roads gridlocked and tem- porarily closed by police. The protest, the sec- ond since July, was held because Lon- don’s black cab drivers believe Trans- port for London (TfL) is enforcing “uneven regulation” in the taxi
and private hire trade. Drivers have previ- ously claimed they are losing earnings because of compa- nies such as Uber which are allegedly not being subjected to the same licens- ing rules as black cabs.
Many supporters of
the #SaveTaxi cam- paign held banners and waved flags along Whitehall while taxi drivers were seen lining the streets. The protest comes just over a month after another demon- stration outside TfL’s headquarters in Vic- toria Street.
Black cabs lined the streets during the demo
BORIS JOHNSON HECKLED BY PROTESTING CABBIES
Mayor’s Question Time was suspended last month after Boris Johnson insulted protesting taxi drivers by calling them Lud- dites and beoing interrupted, before cabbies tried to force their way into City Hall. Police were called in and a member of City Hall security staff was knocked uncon- scious in a scuffle outside the building. London Ambulance Service confirmed that they took one patient to hospital “for minor injuries”. The cabbies were protesting over a range of issues, including the intro- duction of electric vehicles and the dif- ferences in the way that TfL regulates black cabs, com- pared to Uber. Taxi drivers say a lack of regulation is putting
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public safety at risk. The event had already got off to a rocky start for the Mayor when it emerged he knew nothing about pro- posals to cut all police community support officers (PCSOs). London Assembly member Joanne Mc- Cartney said: “You’re the Chair of MOPAC. That is astonishing.” Then, in front of a crowd of taxi drivers bearing protest ban- ners, the Mayor was asked a question about electric cabs - and responded with: “Can I just say to all the luddites in the room who don’t want to see new technolo- gy -” at which point he was cut off with whistles and jeers. Boris then left the chamber, and the drivers were asked to leave City Hall, but refused to leave. The London Assem- bly euphemistically said that MQT had been abandoned “due to audience par- ticipation”. Police were called in as more protesters outside tried to ‘storm’ the building, and Southwark
forward to their im- plementation.
Cabbies Disrupt Mayor’s question time
Police advised peo- ple to avoid the area. Chanting, drumming and protest slogans filled the air outside City Hall whilst MQT was reconvened in a basement room. The demonstrators marched over Tower Bridge and west up Tooley Street, heading on to Queen Victoria Street, holding bannners that read “TfL - Totally Failing London”. Mayor’s Question Time re- turned to the chamber just before 12 noon. Tony Arbour AM, Deputy Chairman of the London Assem- bly, released this statement: “Today’s disruption at Mayor’s Question Time was unnecessary and unfortunate. Several
members of the City Hall security team were punched, pushed and verbally abused. One was knocked uncon- scious and taken to hospital. Our under- standing is that his condition is now sta- ble and we wish him well soon.
“The Assembly is fully aware of the depth of feeling with- in the licensed taxi industry – but this kind of disruption is unhelpful to the fight for their livelihoods. “The Transport Com- mittee’s cross-party report into the taxi and private hire industries, ‘Future Proof’, made a num- ber of recommend- ations to the Mayor and TfL and we look
“In the meantime, at- tending City Hall meetings to watch London government in action is encouraged – but verbal and physi- cal attacks are not.” A statement on behalf of those protesting said taxi drivers were “endur- ing the total collapse of the trade”.
They accused TfL of “indiscriminate licen- sing” and risking public safety, as “taxis from all over the country descend on London to ply their wares”.
It added that drivers’ earning potential could no longer meet the “inflated running costs” under Trans- port for London, and that TfL’s refusal to act
had led taxi apps to enter the market “at an unprecedented rate”. The statement from protesters said they opposed the violent action seen in Paris but added: “The trade is entitled to know where it stands; if answers aren’t forthcoming, then what we are effec- tively dealing with is nothing short of total- itarianism, and direct action will resume on a weekly basis.” Police have arrested a 65-year-old man in on suspicion of assault. A 46-year-old man voluntarily attended an east London police station where he was interviewed under caution. Police are still appealing for the pub- lic to identify the four men.
Hundreds of taxi drivers descended on City Hall OCTOBER 2015
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